It’s become common knowledge that TikTok’s For You Page is controlled by an algorithm that specifically tailors the app's feed to produce highly personalized videos, locking in users' attention. However, a recent exposé from Forbes claims that TikTok employees can control which content goes viral with a “heating” button that pushes certain videos to the feeds of more users.
The news: Forbes reported that it gathered information on the topic from six current and former TikTok employees and internal company documents.
- “The heating feature refers to boosting videos into the For You Feed through operation and intervention to achieve a certain number of video views,” read an internal TikTok document, per Forbes. “The total video views of heated videos account for a large portion of the daily total video views, around 1-2%, which can have a significant impact on overall core metrics.”
- Forbes says that TikTok has never publicly revealed that it uses heating tactics to promote certain videos.
TikTok’s response: In a response to Forbes about heating practices, TikTok spokesperson Jamie Favazza stated that heated videos only make up .002% of videos on the For You Page in the U.S.
- “We promote some videos to help diversify the content experience and introduce celebrities and emerging creators to the TikTok community. Only a few people, based in the U.S., have the ability to approve content for promotion in the U.S., and that content makes up approximately .002% of videos in For You feeds,” Favazza said.
Why it matters: Sources told Forbes that TikTok has used the heating feature to entice influencers and brands into partnerships by promising to promote their videos.
- Forbes also states that employees have reportedly abused the heating feature, using it to boost videos made by people they have close personal relationships with. In one case, this led to a video receiving more than three million views.
- It’s worthwhile to note that, if registered, creators can receive money for viral videos uploaded to TikTok, thanks to the app’s creator fund.
The bigger picture: FBI officials have named TikTok — a Chinese-owned company — a potential national security concern. According to previous Deseret News reporting, FBI Director Chris Wray warned of “the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection of millions of users.”
- Even though TikTok claims that data from U.S. users are managed domestically, officials worry that the Chinese government has no limit of access to the site's data, per Deseret News.
- Other investigations into TikTok have shown that the app shows different content to its U.S. users than its Chinese users. A social media analyst compared the U.S. version to opium and the Chinese version to spinach, per Deseret News.
- “You allow those two societies to play out for a few generations and I can tell you what your world is going to look like,” said Tristan Harris, a former Google employee to CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
- Several U.S. states, including Utah, have banned TikTok from state-owned devices over national security concerns, according to Deseret News.